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Voters to decide on business tax in November

Arizona voters will decide in November whether to reduce property taxes, but not for themselves.

You'll be voting on whether to raise the exemption for businesses, who pay taxes on every piece of equipment they own.Voters previously okayed exemptions, with inflation, on the first $68,000 of value. Proposition 116 would raise that to about $2.4 million.

Farrell Quinlan of the National Federation of Independent Business says the jump makes sense for economic development.

"When we make it more difficult for them to buy that equipment or machinery, or upgrade to make themselves more efficient and more competitive, we make it harder for them to hire workers or in some cases even keep the workers they have," Quinlan said.

If Prop 116 is approved, the tax burden will be shifted to homeowners, but not right away. Under the measure the shift will take place at a much slower-than-normal rate, which Quinlan says will hopefully be offset by faster economic growth. So far there is no organized opposition to the measure.